Iowa Caucus 2016: Full Results for Republican and Democratic Candidates

Beginning at 7 p.m. Central on Monday, Democrats and Republicans in Iowa will be the first in the country to select their preferences for their parties' respective presidential nominees in 2016 (the full process is a bit more complicated).

The Democratic field is less crowded, with caucus-goers choosing between just three candidates: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, self-declared democratic socialist and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. The race largely comes down to a close contest between Sanders and Clinton, with O'Malley a distant third.

Anything can and does happen in Iowa, which has ruined and raised presidential ambitions before. The maps below will automatically refresh with county-level votes as they come in.

This post will be continually updated with live coverage of the caucuses as the results start to come in (all time stamps are in eastern time).

12:45 a.m.: The final tally in the Iowa caucus has come to a Democratic tie and a victory in the Republican race for Ted Cruz.

Hours after Iowans were done caucusing, the Democratic tally stood slightly in Clinton's favor, but was too close to call. With 96% of precincts reporting, Clinton led Sanders 49.9% to 49.6%.

In the Republican race, Cruz pulled off a solid victory, totaling about 27.6% of the final vote. He placed above Trump at 24.3%, Rubio at 23.1% and Carson at 9.3%. Bush, once widely hailed as the probable nominee, ended in a dismal sixth place at 2.8%, behind Paul, who received 4.5%.

"As I stand here tonight, breathing a big sigh of relief, thank you, Iowa," Clinton told supporters."Think hard about what the Democratic Party looks like and what we want the future of our country to look like if we do our part to build it. I am a progressive who gets things done for people."

She added she will be a strong advocate for "Women's rights, gay rights, voting rights, immigrant rights."

As of 11:51 p.m., more than 20 minutes after the beginning of Clinton's speech, the outcome of the race remained unclear. With 94% of precincts reporting, Clinton and Sanders were virtually tied at 49.9% to 49.6%.

"Let me first of all say, to God be the glory," Cruz told assembled reporters. "Tonight is a victory for the grassroots. Tonight is a victory for courageous conservatives across Iowa and all across this great nation."

@tedcruz declares victory in #IowaCaucus speech: "Tonight is a victory for the grassroots." http://cnn.it/1PbYlyz http://cnn.it/1Sphrrb

"Iowa has sent notice that the Republican nominee and the next president of the United States will not be chosen by the media." - Ted Cruz

"We together earned the vote of 48,608 Iowans. To put this in perspective, your incredible victory that you have won tonight, that is the most votes ever cast for any Republican primary winner" in Iowa, Cruz said.

10:24 p.m.: Trump is on the way to placing third, behind both Cruz and Rubio.

This isn't going the way Team Trump hoped it would. With 83% of precincts reporting, Trump polls at 24%, behind Cruz at 27.7%. More alarmingly for the real-estate billionaire's presidential prospects, Rubio could now conceivably place him in third — he's gaining on Trump, with 23% support.

10:14 p.m.: The Democratic race is too close to call, even as it races towards a conclusion.

70% of precincts have reported results, and Sanders is edging closer and closer toward Clinton. Approximately 49% of Democrats have sided with the democratic socialist from Vermont, and just 50.4% have sided with Clinton.

10:05 p.m.: Martin O'Malley, faced with the prospect of 0% support in tonight's caucus, will reportedly drop out of the race later tonight.

O'Malley will suspend campaign operations after facing a shellacking in Iowa. According to the New York Times, in the city of Indianola, the governor from Maryland struggled to secure even a single delegate.

Martin O'Malley to suspend his campaign tonight , according to a source close to the campaign.

10:04 p.m.: High turnout, originally expected to help Trump, appears to actually be hurting him.

Analysts originally expected that low turnout would favor Trump's opponents, particularly Ted Cruz. But record turnout is being reported across the state, with Politico estimating over 170,000 Republican participants, up from 121,000 in 2012. As Trump continues to lag behind Cruz, and Rubio outperforming expectations, some analysts are concluding that large numbers of people went to the polls specifically to vote against Trump.

So GOP turnout is way up but it's not helping Trump. Expect stories of people going to GOP caucuses to simply vote against him.

9:49 p.m.: Trump is still trailing Cruz by over three percent, even as the results add up.

This has been a tough night for Trump so far. He's been performing well under what pre-caucus polling would suggest all night, and now, with 56% of precincts posting results, he trails Cruz 28.7% to 25.1%.

9:38 p.m.: A Democratic voter just dropped the F-bomb on live television, calling the Department of Veterans Affairs "fucked up" on an MSNBC broadcast.

Here's that f-bomb that just dropped on MSNBC: #iacaucus pic.twitter.com/v4f7dZDPrg

9:35 p.m.: With over half of Democratic precincts now reporting, Sanders is narrowing the gap, but remains behind Clinton.

With 61% of precincts now reporting results, the race for the Democratic nomination remains very close. Clinton has 50.9% of the vote, while Sanders has slightly closed the gap at 48.5%.

9:12 p.m.: With more precincts reporting, Clinton and Cruz maintain early leads.

With a full 26% of precincts reporting, Clinton maintains a strong lead over Sanders, 52.6% to 47%.

Republican precincts are reporting more slowly, but with 5% reporting, Cruz is holding a 30.1% to Trump's 28.8%.

8:54 p.m.: There are more Republicans voting for the first time than in 2012, and they lean toward Trump by double-digits.

There are more first-time caucusgoers than 2012, and they're going strongly for Trump: http://wapo.st/1nBa8PJ pic.twitter.com/HnlaNiN3Yp

8:31 p.m.: Iowa Democrats caucusing for the first time favor Sanders by large margins

8:11 p.m.: Time reports only 11% of respondents in a CBS News exit poll who chose a candidate "in the last few days" chose Trump.

IAcaucus entrance poll results, GOP: only 11% of those who made up their minds in "the last few days" are choosing @RealDonaldTrump

8:10 p.m.: Ben Carson will take a break for "R&R" after Iowa, going to Florida instead of New Hampshire or South Carolina.

According to CNN Politics' Chris Moody, Carson — who has plummeted in the polls following a brief surge in fall 2015 — will not be sticking around in Iowa for very long tonight.

In fact, Carson will likely be catching a plane out of the state before the results are even in, and instead of heading early to the next important primary contest in the state of New Hampshire, will be heading to Florida for a vacation from the campaign trail.

Ben Carson will likely speak at his victory party in Iowa before caucus results are in so he can catch a flight.

Carson won't go to NH/SC, but instead will head home to Florida for some R&R. He'll be in DC Thursday for the National Prayer Breakfast.

Campaign officials told PBS' Lisa Desjardins that Carson's campaign schedule was still on track, but he just needed more clothes:

BREAKING ON CARSON: Campaign tells me he's NOT changing campaign sched... just leaving Iowa early b/c of storm... to get more clothes.